Pocket guard



July 27, 1937. w; R. BUxToN POCKET GUARD Filed Sept. 2l, 1935 INVENTOR BWP/VER f?. U17-0N Patented Juiy 27, 1937 maar s* ibi r 4 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved pocket guard for use in preventing abilliold, purse, pocket-book or the like from falling out of the pocket or `from being surreptitiously abstracted from the pocket. 1

The invention has for an object the provision of a pocket guard, consisting of Va strip of springy material, adapted to be connected preferably in a manner to permit swinging movement, to one wall of a pocket near the upper edge thereof and to be inserted into the pocket a substantial distance to overlie the pocket-book, or other article in said pocket, and to also extend alongside said article and tend to press'the same toward and against said wall. A

The invention is characterized in that the guard is of such length r'elativeto the pocket that it cannot be swung out or" the pocket solely by movement about its point of pivotal attachment to the pocket-wall andit cannot be withdrawn from the pocket at all without bending it to a very large degree (into substantially loop form) and, in so doing, the resilient guard is placed under such stress that it exerts substantial pres- Sure against one of `the pocket walls and through such wall to the body of the person for the purpose of effectively warning him of the attempted theft. A Y

The-invention is also characterized in that the guard and billfold cannot simultaneously be withdrawn from the'pocket and in that, on any atternp'tfto do so, the guardwill function in cooperation with the pocket wall to bind the billfold more tightly-in piace: This'action results because the guard is stiff enough so that it does not bend materially or buckleA when theV billfold is pulledup against it, andbecause of the position of the guard alongside the billfold in substantially straight form, whereby the guard will be cammed inwardly as the billfold is -pulled upwardly and the upper edge of the pocket wall will be pulled inwardly over and down upon the top of the billfold to effectively hold it against removal from the pocket.

These and other objects will more particularly appear as the detailed description proceeds and will be pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention will be disclosed with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a face view of a pocket guard embodyingthe invention; i

Fig. 2 is a sectional viewtaken on the line 2-2 of Fig. l; l

Fig. 3 is al sideelevational form of a clasp Yfor fastening the guardto the pocket;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary exterior view of a garment showing the guard in place in one of the pockets thereof;

Fig. 5 is a sectional elevational View taken through such pocket and showing the guard; and

Fig. 6 is a View, taken similarly to Fig. 5 but l showing the position which the guard assumes when one attempts to remove the billfold without rst removing the guard.

Referring first to Figs. l to 3 of this drawing; the pocket guard preferably consists of a member in the form of a substantially straight and iiat strip which is iiexible and resilient. In theV particular form shown,this member is a composite one, made up of a strip iii of tempered steel, which is very thin (having a thickness oa few thousandths of an inch,l for example) and a doubled over strip il of leather or the like. The leather Il is drawn through a loop l 2 and doubled over to form a member of two'plies between which the strip It is placed. These two plies of leather are then sewed or otherwise secured, along the line i3, just below the lower bar of loop i2, and along the lines it near the side edges and the free end edge. It is preferable that the reenforcing spring .stripY Iii extend from end to end of the leather strip, substantially as shown.

As far as the functioning of the device is ooncerned, the leather il might be omitted and sole reliance placed upon the strip ii). However, it is desirable to have the metal strip covered by a Sheath of softer material in order to avoid wear on the pocket. Also, the appearance of the article is improved by the use of the leather sheath; and the leather oiers a simple and inexpensive means for attaching the spring metal strip to the lower cross bar of loop i2, Moreover, this construction enables the width of the guard to be increased to extend over as much of the pocket width as is desired solely by an increase in width of the leather and without a corresponding increase in the width of the spring strip it. The dimensions of this strip it cannot be materially changed without eiecting the degree of its resiliency but the leather covering can be increased in width to any desired degree without substantially increasing the stiiness oi the guard.

The guard, thusfar described, is adapted to be secured at one end by any suitable means to one wall, usually the outer wall. or" the pocket of agarment. As an illustrative example of one such means which I consider suitable for the purpose, I have shown in the drawing a common form of clasp. This clasp comprises a U- shaped piece of metal l5, within which is mountflo ed a similarly shaped piece it of spring metal, the arms of which are provided near their outer ends with opposed spurs il. A lever i3, mounted in trunnions l on one arm of member i5 has a part 2! eiective, when lever E3 is swung from the position shown in Fig. 3 upwardly into par-- allelism with member l5, to engage one arm of the spring strip iii and move it toward the other to clamp a portion of the cloth wall of the pocket therebetween. This clasp is secured, as by soldering or any other suitable way, to the upper cross bar of loop l2. rIhe arrangement is preferably such that the guard may swing relatively to the clasp-the guard in this case turning on the lower cross bar of loop l2. Various other means might obviously be used for the purpose, which is simply to secure one end of the guard, preferably in a manner to enable pivotal movement, to a wall of the pocket, and the one means described is to be taken merely as illustrating one of many that are suitable.

In use, the guard is attached to one wall of a pocket near the upper edge thereof. Conveniently, the outer wall of the pocket is used especially where the fastening device is of the clasp form shown. However, the guard might be attached by other means to the inner wall of the pocket. The usual and best method of attachment is shown in Fig. 5 in connection with a pocket p formed in a garment g. The outer and inner walls of the pocket are shown at w and w', respectively. The outer wall w lies just inside a part g of the garment, so that in eiTect the outer wall is of double thickness. Also, the upper edge of the part g is folded down over the wall w so that the upper edge of the outer wall is of three ply thickness. To such edge the clasp is applied and fastened as shown, the lever i8 being located by preference inside the pocket where it is normally inaccessible,-being covered by the guard. The guard can occupy two positions, one inside and one outside the pocket p. With the guard hanging pendant from the loop i2 of the clasp and outside the pocket as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 5, one places the billfold b, or other article in pocket p. Then the guard is swung upwardly until it occupies a position in which it extends approximately horizontally outward from the bar l2 of the clasp and, while thus positioned, its free end is bent upwardly and then downwardly until its lower and free end lies in the mouth of the pocket and against the rear Wall w thereof, or nearly into substantially the form of a loop as shown by the upper set of dotted lines in Fig. 5. Ordinarily, if the guard is released when thus positioned, it will, because of its tendency to resume a straight form, enter the pocket p and assume a position more or less like that shown by full lines in Fig. 5. If it does not thus automatically enter the pocket, it may readily be thrust downwardly. When properly inserted, the guard lies between the billfold b andthe rear wall w and is very nearly, although usually not quite straight. Usually, the spring strip of the guard is under some tension and its tree end presses against wall w and its pivoted end presses against the upper edge of wall w while an intermediate part presses the billfold toward wall w.

It is to be noted that the guard is oi such length that it cannot be swung, about its pivotal connection with the clasp, out of pocket p. Its length is greater than the maximum width of pocket p, even when the pocket is distended as much as possible. Particularly, the guard is of such length that it cannot be pulled out of they pocket without bending it nearly into loop .form and more or less reversing the method used in its insertion into the pocket. Because of this arrangement, the pickpocket will nd it impossible to lift the guard out of the pocket without attracting the attention of his intended victim. This follows because, when the guard is bent as is necessary, preliminary to its removal, it is also placed under increased tension and the inner and lower end of the guard will press heavily against the rear wall of pocket w' and the latter against the person of the wearer in a manner certain to attract his attention.

Ii the pickpocket attempts to remove the billfold without rst removing the guard, he will be frustrated. It will be seen from Fig. 5 that the guard and outer wall w are disposed in upwardly converging relation and together define an inverted V and, when the billfold is lifted it rides into this V. As the billfold is pulled up, it forces the guard inwardly toward wall w and, as the guard moves inwardly, it pulls inwardly the middle part of the upper edge of pocket p until nally a condition such as shown in Fig. 6 exists. Here, the upper edge of wall w has been pulled down over the top of the billfold until the clasp engages it. Any further upward pull on the billfold will be exerted on the clasp and on the inturned upper edge of the pocket and not against the guard itself. This guard, being resilient, and capable after deflection of resuming its normal straight form, does not bend materially when the billfold is pulled up against it but is cammed inwardly and causes the inturning of the upper edge of the pocket to effectively block the removal of the billfold. The guard cannot buckle, as might a leather piece which is much more flexible and much less resilient. Naturally, it is so very much stiffer than the pocket wall w that the latter bends iirst and is pulled inwardly, as described and the guard becomes practically straight, as shown. Thus, the billfold cannot be removed unless and until the guard has been withdrawn from the pocket.

It will be clear also that the billfold cannot accidentally slide out of the pocket for like reasons. The farther it slides toward the mouth of the pocket, the more tightly it is held against passage through said mouth.

To release the billfold, one reaches into the pocket behind the guard and grasps it at a point considerably away from the clasp and bends it, pulling upwardly at the same time. The spring pressure will force the upper edge of wall w outwardly and cause the clasp to turn until it extends nearly horizontally outward, thus moving outward the pivot point of the guard and facilitating the further bending of the guard into the nearly circular or loop form necessary for its removal. When the guard has been completely withdrawn from the pocket, it is swung outwardly about its pivotal connection with the clasp to lie wholly outside the pocket in a pendant position, leaving the mouth of the pocket entirely unobstructed so that the billfold may be easily and freely withdrawn. Even the clasp is out of the way because the weight of the' guard, acting on the clasp, bends the upper edge of the pocket outwardly as indicated in Fig. 5.

The construction and arrangement is such that even the most dexterous pickpocket could not hope to remove at one operation both the guard and the billfold. As has been seen, it

cannot be done merely by lifting the billfold. And the necessity of springing the guard and bending it to the large degree described is all that the operator can do at o-ne time. I-Ie has no chance to lift up on the billfold at the same time. 'Iwo separate operations are therefore necessary in order to get the billfold out of the pocket.

'I'he invention thus provides a pocket guard which is effective to prevent accidental loss or theft of a billfold or the like from a pocket. The invention is characterized in that the guard is a springy member, which has to be bent to a substantial degree and thus placedunder stress, as a prerequisite to its withdrawal from the pocket. And the placing of the guard under stress results in application of pressure to the owner of the billfold, thereby warning him of the attempted theft. 'I'he arrangement is also characterized in that the guard and lbilli'old cannot be simultaneously withdrawn from the .pooket in one operation. Successive operations are necessary for this purpose,-the guard must be Withdrawn first and in the act of withdrawing the guard an eiTective warning of the impending theft is given.

What I claim is:

1. A guard for preventing loss or theft of a billfold cr the like from the pocket of a garment, comprising, a strip of springy material having a normal shape such that it may extend lengthwise into the pocket and having sufficient resiliency to enable it to lbe' bent into substantially loop form and resume its normal shape when released, means for fastening said strip near one end to one wall of the pocket near the upper edge thereof, said strip adapted to be inserted in the pocket to overlie the top of and lie along one side of the billfold and having a length such as to prevent it from being inserted in or removed from the pocket without rst bending it substantially into the aforesaid form.

2. A guard for preventing loss or theft of a billfold or the like from the pocket of a garment, comprising, a strip of springy material having a normal shape such that it may extend lengthwiseVV into the pocket and having suiiicient resiliency to enable it to be bent into substantially loop form and resume its normal shape when released, means for pivotally suspending said strip from the top edge of the pocket so that it may hang downwardly either inside or outside the pocket, said strip having a length such as to prevent it from being inserted in or removed from the pocket solely by pivotal movement relative to said means and such as to require springing of said strip substantially into the aforesaid form.

3. In combination with a member adapted to be inserted in and withdrawn from the pocket of a garment, of a device having a pivotal connection with said member near one end of the latter and having fastening means for securing it to said pocket near the top edge thereof, so that said member may hang downwardly from said device either inside or outside said pocket, said fastening means being applied to the inside of said pocket below said pivotal connection and being covered and concealed by said member when the latter hangs downwardly inside the pocket, whereby removal of the fastening means without iirst withdrawing said member from said pocket is prevented.

4. In combination with a garment, having inner and outer pocket-forming walls connected together along the bottom and both sides and forrn ing between them a pocket open at its upper end, said pocket adapted to contain a billfold, a strip of springy material having a substantially straight normal shape and having sufficient resiliency to enable it to be bent into substantially loop form and resume its normal form when released, means pivotally connecting one end of said strip to said outer wall near the upper edge thereof at the open end of said pocket, said strip having a length such as to prevent it from being inserted in or removed from said pocket without iirst bending it substantially into the aforesaid form, said strip adapted tobe inserted in the pocket with its lower portion disposed between said inner wall and billfold, its upper portion then overlying the b-illfold and extending from said upper edge in downwardly diverging relation with the outer wall, said upper portion being located in the path of upward movement of the billfold and adapted to be moved by the billfold on an attempted withdrawal of it from the pocket and forced toward the inner wall, drawing the upper edge of said outer wall inwardly and downwardly over the upper end of the billfold.

WARNER R. BUXTON. 

